1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to methods and devices using a group III nitride compound semiconductor represented by a general formula AlxGayIn1−x−yN (0≦x≦1, 0≦y≦1, 0≦x+y≦1). In particular, the present invention is directed to methods and devices using a group III nitride compound semiconductor which has a substrate comprising silicon (Si). A group III nitride compound semiconductor layer comprises binary compounds such as AlN, GaN, and InN. A group III nitride compound semiconductor layer also comprises ternary compounds such as AlxGa1−xN, AlxIn1−xN, and GaxIn1−xN (0<x<1). And a group III nitride compound semiconductor layer further comprises quaternary compounds such as AlxGayIn1−x−yN (0<x<1, 0<y<1, 0<x+y<1).
2. Description of the Related Art
A group III nitride compound semiconductor is a direct-transition-type semiconductor having a wide emission spectrum range from ultraviolet to red, and is applied to light-emitting devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs). Group III nitride compound semiconductors are, in general, formed on a sapphire substrate.
However, in the above-described conventional technique, when a layer of a group III nitride compound semiconductor is formed on a sapphire substrate, cracks and/or warpage may be generated in the semiconductor layer. These flaws form due to differences in thermal expansion coefficients between the sapphire substrate and the group III nitride compound semiconductor. As a consequence, dislocations are generated in the semiconductor layer due to misfit, resulting in degraded device characteristics. Further, because sapphire has an insulation characteristic, both positive and negative electrodes need to be formed on the same side of the sapphire substrate, resulting in limitation of miniaturizing the device and degraded manufacturing efficiency. Moreover, because the substrate and the semiconductor layer are made of different materials, the conventional laser diodes have difficulty in obtaining a good cleavage.